THE possibility of a market town having its own dedicated area for skateboarding is under consideration.

The hobby is on the increase in the Bedale area of North Yorkshire but it has led to complaints, particularly about youngsters skating in the auction mart car park on Bridge Street.

Now the local Community Education Department is investigating the possibility of setting up a skateboard area within the next financial year.

Organiser Graham Claridge said: "There is a lot of skateboarding activity in Bedale, and we would like a recognised area for the youngsters to get together and prevent any nuisance for the rest of the population.

"We want to try to get some of the lads together with Community Education, the town council and the police to see what is available.

"It has got to be a solution that the community as a whole is happy with, and we have to investigate sites, funding, management and insurance."